This invention relates to a character information processing device that is provided with a layout display function for displaying an input document in the image to be actually printed, and that prints out the input document or performs imprinting.
Generally speaking, Japanese or English wordprocessors are provided with various functions for simplifying document entry and editing tasks. One of these functions is a layout function. Switching the screen from a document display mode to a layout display mode displays the document being worked on in the layout that will be actually printed, in a graphic display format such as dot columns and lines. By viewing this layout display, the user can evaluate the actual print-out image on the screen.
This type of layout display function was disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. H5-108630, for example. The layout display function disclosed in this publication allows correction and editing of the document data on the screen while the screen is in the layout display mode.
Recently, small printing devices, referred to as label printers or label wordprocessor, have come into use. This type of printing device prints information onto a tapeshaped printing medium possessing an adhesive bottom surface, and is usually provided with a function to cut the printed medium to the desired length after the printing is completed. The piece of printing medium that has been cut to the desired length can then be pasted as a label in a desired location.
As is the case with ordinary wordprocessors, this type of printing device is also provided with a display function for displaying input document data. Therefore, it would be convenient if the actual print-out on a tape-shaped printing medium with a predetermined width can be determined in advance. Given such a consideration, some printing devices have been proposed that are provided with a layout function, and in which pressing a layout key switches the screen from a document input mode to a layout display mode, as in ordinary wordprocessors.
A layout display function is a convenient function which enables the user to verify information such as the position of the print content of the label being created, by displaying such information on the screen without actually printing the input document on an expensive tape-shaped printing medium. This layout display function is intended to be used after the entry of the document to be printed is completed. However, the user may wish to verify the layout even during the document input. For example, when entering a document consisting of three lines, the user may wish to verify whether or not the first two lines entered are acceptable. In such a case, a conventional layout display function requires that the screen be switched from the input mode to the layout display mode. When the layout display shows that the layout of the entered document is different from the intended layout, the user must first switch back to the input mode, adjust attributes such as character spacing, character size, and tape margin, and then again switch back to the layout mode to verify the updated layout.
As explained above, when using a conventional layout display function, it may be necessary to repeatedly switch the screen between the input mode and the layout mode until the desired layout is obtained. Such operations are cumbersome and should be eliminated.
A function that allows correction of input documents in the layout display mode has been proposed, as mentioned above. However, generally speaking, the input characters in the screen are more difficult to view in a layout display mode than in an input mode, and the operations for correcting/modifying those characters are cumbersome.
Such a problem has arisen in tape printing devices, as well as in character information processing devices that perform printing or imprinting and that possess a high degree of freedom in attributes such as character spacing, character size, and tape margin. For example, the above-mentioned problem has occurred in stamping devices that use a UV-hardening resin whose unhardened areas are removed using a rinsing solution, as the stamping surface, and that expose said stamping surface to light rays patterned according to the input character string.
In such stamping devices, the action of exposing the stamping surface to light rays patterned according to the input document is referred to as imprinting. In this Specification, the word xe2x80x9cprintingxe2x80x9d is used to include such imprinting in some cases.
The object of this invention is to propose a user-friendly character information processing device equipped with a layout display function, that allows the user to enter documents easily in order to obtain the desired layout (printed image).
To solve the above-mentioned problems, the character information processing device of the invention is provided with a key input means for entering document data and a display means for displaying the document data; and is configured to comprise a layout data generation means for generating the data required for forming the layout image of the document to be displayed by the display means, a layout image generation means for expanding said generated layout data into layout image data which can be displayed by said display means, and a display control means for controlling said display means in a simultaneous layout image display mode in which said display document and said layout image corresponding to said display document is simultaneously displayed on the display screen of said display means.
Here, it would be preferable to configure the device such that it is possible to change the ratio between the display areas used for said display document and the display area used for said layout image during simultaneous display.
Furthermore, if a display screen that can display a multiple-line document is used for said display means, at least one line of display area can be allocated as the display area for said layout image during said simultaneous display.
In this case, the display area ratio within said display screen can be changed by changing the number of lines allocated to the display area of said display document and to the display area of said layout image.
It would be preferable to use a configuration in which said key input means is provided with a layout image simultaneous display key for specifying simultaneous display of the layout image, in which said display control means is provided with a counter for counting the number of times said layout image simultaneous display key has been used, and in which said display control means changes said ratio according to the counter value in said counter during said simultaneous layout display. When such a configuration is used, the operation for changing said display ratio can be simply performed by repeatedly pressing a single key.
In this case, a ring counter can be used for the counter, and the device can be set up such that only said display document will be displayed on said display means when the value in said ring counter reaches a preset value. This configuration is preferable since it simplifies the switching between document-only display and simultaneous layout image display.
A document usually consists of at least one paragraph, and said paragraph consists of at least one line, and said line consists of an actual line comprising at least one character or a blank line without any characters. It is possible to configure said layout data such that it comprise 5-layer hierarchical data that consists of the document handler for specifying a document, the document layer data containing the information on the document, the paragraph layer data containing the information on individual paragraphs comprising the document, the line layer data containing the information on individual lines comprising each paragraph, and character layer data containing the information on individual characters comprising each line.
Note that individual document data contained in said document layer data comprises at least the document size, a document data pointer for specifying the document that follows, and a paragraph handler for specifying paragraph layer data contained in said document data. Individual paragraph data contained in said paragraph layer data comprises at least paragraph position and size, a paragraph data pointer for specifying the paragraph that follows, and a line handler for specifying line layer data contained in said paragraph data. Individual line data contained in said line layer data comprises at least line position and size, a line data pointer for specifying the line that precedes or follows, and a character handler for specifying character layer data contained in said line data. Furthermore, individual character data contained in said character layer data comprises at least character position, and a character data pointer for specifying the character that precedes or follows.
In a character information processing device according to the present invention, when document data is inputted, a layout data generation means generates layout data required for displaying a layout image by a display means which presents how the document data looks if actually printed out. Based on the generated layout data, the layout image generation means generates layout image data required for displaying the layout data on an actual display screen of said display means. And, an input document and its layout image can be simultaneously displayed in the display screen of the display means, under the control of the display control means. Consequently, the user can perform document entry while viewing the layout image being displayed; in other words while verifying how the actual printout would look.
In this way, the invention improves user-friendliness of character information processing devices by simplified the operation of entering a document to obtain the desired layout.